Burned Out
by Captain Peregrine
Summary: Sokka's sick, but that won't stop him from going hunting. Katara's not so keen on him going alone, so Zuko gets dragged along. Was T but Sokka and Zuko had other ideas...
1. Chapter 1

Takes place sometime between _The Firebending Masters_ and _Boiling Rock_.

"Sokka, I don't think you should go."

Sokka managed to glare at his sister through the coughing fit claiming his ability to speak. Katara must have been serious because she was willing to wait until he could talk again—something she wasn't often willing to do. She even did it without looking impatient, which probably should have warned him that she was actually worried about him and meant that he was probably dying.

"Who else is going to do it, Katara?" Sokka asked. His sore throat made him sound remarkably like Zuko. Sokka was pretty sure he only sounded sick, though, and not at all sexy.

Not that Zuko sounded sexy. At all. That was the sick talking, not his actual functioning brain.

Sokka shook himself out of his rather awkward train of thought and looked up at his sister. He just hoped he didn't look as terrible as he felt or else Katara would never let him go and they'd be without fresh meat for spirits' only knew how much longer.

Katara pressed her lips together in her classic I-know-you're-right-but-I-won't-admit-it look and crossed her arms.

"Fine…but you shouldn't go alone."

Sokka rolled his eyes.

"Why? So that when I pass out in the woods I have someone to drag me back?" he rasped. Holy hells, he sounded awful even to his own ears—like he'd been gargling sand. To Katara he probably sounded like he had just crawled up from his own grave. The sarcasm, then, probably wouldn't get him very far. Not when it was teetering so very near the truth. It _obviously_ wasn't when he saw Katara narrow her eyes in a manner that suggested she was quite ready to revert to her previous argument of him not going at all. Sokka held up his hands in a gesture of placation. "I know, I know. Not funny. But seriously, Katara. Who do you suggest I bring with me on a hunting trip? Aang?"

Katara and Sokka both glanced over at the young Avatar rolling a wind-ball around for Momo to chase. The same Avatar who had looked like he was about to cry that one time he accidently blew a mouse out of the temple into midair. Momo had saved it, of course—then promptly ate it, which had only caused the young Air Nomad to feel guilty.

Katara pursed her lips.

"Okay. Maybe not Aang. What about The Duke?"

Sokka's mouth fell open in horror. Luckily for him, however, The Duke strolled into view in his over-sized helmet with a finger stuck so far up his nose it was a wonder it wasn't coming out the other nostril. Katara grimaced.

"Right…" she sighed and looked back at Sokka. "Look, Sokka, I would really feel better if someone went with you. I don't know if Toph or—"

"What about Zuko?" Sokka asked brightly. Katara froze and stared at him as if he had just sprouted a second head. Or... more likely, like his head had just exploded. Which, quite frankly, it felt like it was ready to do.

However, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Zuko _had_ to know how to hunt—at least a teeny bit. Even if he didn't he was a fast learner so he could at least help set the snares. Plus he wasn't a big talker and while normally Sokka could do enough talking for both of them his throat felt like it was on fire. More talking than was necessary was out of the question, even for Sokka. He was also the least annoying of the boys (no offense Aang) which, in Sokka's book, was a major plus right now. Well, it sure sounded as if he had made up his mind.

Katara opened her mouth, probably set to argue until Sokka's voice gave out—which wouldn't take too long—but Sokka beat her to it.

"It's either Zuko or I go alone." Sokka met her gaze unflinchingly then offered a lopsided smile. "Plus, at least you know that if I do collapse in the woods, nothing's going to drag me off to eat me when there's a sword-wielding Firebender around."

There was no arguing against that point, at least. Not only did Zuko look rather intimidating, he _was_. And if Aang could stand up to a billion-pound raging sabertooth-mooselion mother, then Sokka was pretty sure Zuko could, too. Not that there were too many of those running around above the temple.

Hopefully.

Katara glared at Sokka. Sokka grinned back at her. Finally she threw her hands into the air in defeat.

"Fine! Take Zuko. But if he tries anything—"

"Katara, if Zuko didn't "try anything" while he and Aang were gone on their dance-lesson fieldtrip then I doubt he's gonna "try anything" with me."

Katara glared a moment longer, probably trying to cow Sokka into changing his mind. But Sokka was having none of that. Sick or not, the group needed meat—_he_ needed meat—and Sokka really was the only one skilled enough to go hunting in strange terrain. Hell, in _any_ terrain. The Duke may have lived out in the woods, but Sokka was fairly sure his talent ended at snares and thieving. Haru was a farmer—again, snares, but probably not much else. Teo was out for…obvious reasons. So, really, that did only leave Zuko.

"Whatever." Katara sighed finally and stalked off. Sokka was relieved she had left first—he couldn't help but wobble a bit when he stood up. He grabbed his already-packed bag and went off to find his new hunting partner.

0o0

Sokka found Zuko fairly quickly. When he wasn't training Aang or eating with the others, the Firebender rarely left his appointed room. As usual, the door was open—a simple gesture, but one that Sokka at least understood clearly. He may not seek out the company of the rest of the group—either by his own desire to avoid them or his assumption that _they'd_ rather avoid _him_—but he was not about to shun them if they came looking for him. Always available. Ready to help. Out of the way.

Rather depressing, actually, now that Sokka thought about it.

When Sokka got to Zuko's door, he peeped his head around. Sure enough, there he was, sitting cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed. Meditating, probably, judging by the candles lined along the floor in front of him. Sokka couldn't help but watch in fascination as each little flame grew and shrank in time with Zuko's calm breathing. There were five and not a single flame moved out of sync with the others or Zuko. It was an impressive show of control—at least for Sokka. For a regular Firebender maybe not. So maybe just keep the fact that he was impressed to himself.

Sokka prepared to clear his throat—thought better of it since it would probably hurt—and instead opened his mouth to offer a tentative greeting.

"I know you're there." Zuko spoke before Sokka could find anything to say. The Firebender took a last deep breath before he opened his eyes—the flames extinguishing themselves at the same time he breathed out again. "What do you need?"

"Um…well, you, actually." Sokka said, then grinned nervously when he saw Zuko blush. Sokka felt his own skin grow hot. He shook his head and chuckled. "No, no. That's, uh, that's not what I meant. I mean—"

Sokka was cut off by a sudden bout of coughing. He closed his eyes—he was half-convinced his eyes would pop out if he didn't, despite Katara telling him he was an idiot for believing "everything" The Duke told him—and buried his face in his elbow. He used his free hand to prop himself against the doorframe. The coughing lasted only a few seconds, but it left Sokka feeling exhausted. He took a ragged breathe and sagged against the frame, relieved once again that Katara wasn't around to see him.

Sokka opened his eyes and was surprised to see Zuko standing within touching distance, a hint of concern on his unburned features.

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked. Sokka nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak right now, not with his throat feeling so raw and abused from all the coughing. He took a few more breaths before he found his voice again.

"Ah—sorry about that." Sokka winced at the hoarse quality of his voice. He coughed once to clear it, pleased when that didn't lead to another round. "Um…what was I saying? Oh, right. I'm going hunting, but Katara thinks I need a babysitter. So I…sorta drafted you to come with me. That okay?"

Zuko looked surprised. Then pleased—which, in turn, surprised Sokka—then wary.

"Katara doesn't mind?"

"Katara minds the fact that you breathe." Sokka winced at how harsh that sounded, especially when he saw Zuko flinch, but since it was kind of the truth it was hard to take back. "So… yeah. She does mind, but it's not her call. It's mine. She says I need a partner and I say it's you. If you're up to it."

Zuko looked Sokka up and down and raised an eyebrow.

"If _I'm_ up to it? _You_ hardly look like you're up to it."

Sokka frowned, doing his best to ignore the way his skin grew hot with embarrassment. He really had been trying to hide how crappy he was feeling. With everyone pointing it out every spare second they had then he was obviously doing a piss-poor job.

"Look, it's bad enough I get this from my sister. I don't need it from you, too, okay? This group needs fresh meat and _I'm_ the meat guy. So if I don't go, no one gets anything. Don't come if you don't want to. I don't really care. Just do me a favor and stay out of sight for a few days so Katara at least thinks you went with me, okay? Call it a vacation. Or whatever."

Sokka hadn't meant to sound so snappy, but really…this was grinding on his nerves. _Yes_, he was sick. _Yes_, all he really wanted to do was go to bed for a week. _Yes_, it felt like there was a tigerdillo using the inside of his throat as a scratching post. And, yes, one more coughing fit like that and he was fairly certain he would break a rib. But he was also the guy who had been in charge of an entire village for over two years. He was the guy who had brought back pretty much the only meat for his entire tribe. He was the guy who had done just that feeling worse than he was now. He may not be able to contribute a lot for their rag-tag little group, but he was going to damn well try. Even if it killed him.

Which, hopefully, it wouldn't.

Sokka turned to leave, but a hand around his arm stopped him. He turned to glare at Zuko, but was stopped short by the look of shame on the older boy's face.

"Sokka—I'm sorry. It wasn't my place to… What?"

Sokka hadn't realized he was staring. He blinked and shook his head, trying to toss aside distracting images of golden eyes.

"Nothing… Sorry. It's just… I can't actually remember you ever saying my name before. It was…" _Nice. Wonderful. Perfect._ "Weird."

Zuko frowned.

"I'm sure I've said it before."

Sokka cleared his throat, wincing at the pain it caused. He made a mental note to stop doing that for a few days.

"Um, yeah, I'm sure you have. Anyway, I've got to get going." He turned to leave again only to realize that Zuko had never actually let go of his arm. He turned back with raised eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Just let me pack."


	2. Chapter 2

It had rather surprised Zuko when Sokka had Appa fly them to the top of the canyon. Between the two of them they weren't carrying very many supplies—a few snares, fishing gear, a bag for each of them with clothes and food and sleeping rolls, a tent, their collective weapons—and everything they were carrying fit easily on their backs. Zuko suspected it had something to do with Sokka not feeling his best at the moment—the younger teen really did look terrible—and admitting to himself (if not to Zuko directly) that he simply wasn't up to the climb.

Sokka claimed that since they would probably use Appa to get back down to the temple (hard to rappel with the added weight of a successful hunt); why not use him to get up? Zuko decided not to argue. Perhaps Katara had been right, though, in making sure Sokka had someone with him.

Once they were at the edge, Appa left them. The rock of the canyon ran for several dozen yards before the tree line started. It was there they would hunt and set up camp. Sokka told Zuko he didn't plan on being up here for very long, but that he also wasn't going back until he had something actually worth eating. Zuko wondered how long Sokka would last. Just walking to the trees seemed to have left the Water Tribe boy breathless—though he was trying very hard not to show it. At least he wasn't coughing.

"I figure if we spend today setting up snares, we can spend tomorrow fishing and hunting. Then check the traps." Sokka said. His voice was gravelly, hoarse. To Zuko it sounded painful, but Sokka hadn't uttered a word of complaint. Zuko had to admit he was a bit surprised. All the boy seemed to do was complain. However, when he actually seemed to have a reason to do so, he clammed up. "Have you set up snares before?"

"Not really." Zuko admitted. "I tried fishing once when Uncle and I were on our own, but that… didn't work out very well."

"No problem. It's pretty easy." Sokka's voice caught and he winced, rubbing at his throat a bit. He tried to clear it and the sound Zuko heard gurgling in his chest didn't sound healthy at all. Zuko suspected that Sokka was sicker than he was letting on, which is why Katara had let him go at all.

He frowned slightly, knowing that if he said anything the Water Tribe warrior would only get offensive again. Zuko couldn't blame him. He would have done the same thing. _Had_ done the same thing numerous times before.

"Why don't you just show me?" Zuko asked, picking up one of the traps. "Then we can split up and cover more ground."

Sokka looked startled for a moment, then grateful. Then, to Zuko's amusement, he looked embarrassed. He dipped his head and nodded. Zuko stooped next to him and watched quietly while Sokka demonstrated how to set the trap and hide it. Just for good measure he showed him how it worked, too, which Zuko appreciated. Sokka was handing him a few of the traps when he started to cough.

The teen made a pitiful sight, crouching on the ground with his arms around his ribs and his face buried in his knees, gasping for breath between each cough. Zuko stayed beside him, watching him while wondering what he could do to help. He hesitated, but then rested his hand on Sokka's back. He didn't know if Sokka would appreciate the gesture, but the boy didn't seem to mind being touched by Aang or Katara so he hoped he wouldn't mind a similar touch from him.

Sokka's coughing lasted a few more minutes before Zuko heard him take the long, ragged breath that signaled the end to his exhausting fit. He sagged a bit beneath his hand and groaned into his knees. Zuko continued to rub Sokka's back since it appeared the motion soothed the younger teen.

"Sorry." Sokka mumbled into his knees. His voice sounded like stones grinding against each other. He pushed himself to his feet, wobbling a bit, but he waved Zuko off when he moved to steady him. The teen was flushed and his eyes too bright. However, he didn't feel warm—not through the shirt, anyway.

"How long have you been sick?" Zuko asked, not caring how defensive Sokka got. The other boy could hardly talk right now, anyway, so he didn't really see much of a fight happening.

Sokka shrugged and bent to pick up his dropped snares.

"Day or two I guess." He said, his voice barely above a whisper. He swallowed and grimaced. "It's not so bad."

"Really?" Zuko raised an eyebrow. "What's _bad_, then?"

Sokka shrugged again. 

"I don't know…what, you've never been sick before?" he asked, grinning weakly over his shoulder. His eyes widened in surprise when Zuko shrugged.

"Not really. I mean, when I was younger, I guess." Zuko shrugged again, this time feeling a bit awkward under Sokka's shocked stare. "Firebenders… don't get sick much."

"How?" Sokka asked, his voice cracking painfully. Zuko held up a hand and a ball of flame hovered above his palm.

"We just… burn it out." Zuko shrugged. He twitched his hand and the flame vanished. "Basically we give ourselves a fever, but it's controlled and it's more intense. Burns out the sickness before it actually makes us sick."

Sokka shook his head and looked like he wanted to ask another question. The look of concentration on his face, however, made it clear that he was seriously contemplating how much he actually wanted to speak that question out loud. Zuko may not have been that great with people, but he could guess with Sokka. The boy's face was almost too easy to read.

"You're probably wondering how we know we're sick, right?" Zuko asked. Sokka looked up with a shy look of thanks and nodded. Zuko felt a small tingle of pride that he had been right. Zuko bent to pick up a few snares. "We can sort of… feel it. I don't know how it is for other 'benders—or for non-benders—but Firebenders are very aware of their body temperature. We can control our own. When it's cold, we stay warm. When it's too hot we can regulate out bodies for that, too. So when we start getting sick, we can feel our temperatures spike. Even the smallest of changes—something a healer probably couldn't sense yet—we are aware of. We feel it, find where it started and then we burn it out."

Sokka shook his head again, but this time there seemed to be no question. He was just impressed. Zuko bit back a smile. He held up his armful of snares.

"So… should we set these?"

Sokka grinned and nodded. Using mostly hand gestures he pointed out which directions they should focus on and how far out they should go.

"Back here in three hours?" Sokka asked, his raspy voice barely audible. Zuko nodded, offered a wave, and trudged into the forest. He glanced back once at Sokka's retreating form, frowning slightly when he saw the boy's shoulders sag with fatigue before he was swallowed up by the trees.

0o0

After the first two snares, Zuko found it pretty easy to set the traps. He marked them just enough so he could find them again, but otherwise camouflaged them the way Sokka had showed him. Sokka—who probably had all his snares set despite being sick. Nice of him to give Zuko three hours.

Zuko had to admit the Water Tribe warrior intrigued him. For all his foolishness and restless energy, he was obviously a smart and thoughtful person. Brave, too. Zuko had never mentioned it, but he knew Sokka had been the warrior who had attacked his ship when they had first landed looking for Aang. The boy had been painted to look fierce and probably would have if he had had a few more warriors to back him up. Instead it was just him—a scrawny little wolf. Almost funny, but still pathetically courageous.

But he had stood his ground—had even had the gall to attack. At the time Zuko had thought him brash and over-confident for attacking half a dozen Firebenders with a club and a boomerang—though the latter had hurt more than he had anticipated. Now, though, Zuko recognized it for what it had really been. Fearless determination. Sokka knew he had been all that stood between his family and potential capture or death. He had been willing to sacrifice himself to protect them. Looking back, Zuko found he admired that. More than admired—aspired to see it in himself.

He had also come to be impressed by what Sokka was capable of when he put all his pent-up, restless energy to use. Despite not being a 'bender, Zuko thought that Sokka was one of the best fighters he had ever seen. He had been astonished to learn that Sokka had only known how to use a sword for a few weeks. The way he moved with the blade, training in the yard, Zuko would have suspected he had studied under a master for months—if not years. Instead, Sokka had been with Piandao less than two days. The intelligence and natural skill it took for Sokka to be this adept so quickly was mind-boggling.

Zuko checked his last snare. He was pleased with his work, actually. He had to admit, though, he was more pleased that Sokka had chosen to take him along at all. Yes, Katara had forced him to take a hunting partner, but Zuko _knew_ that he would have never even made it to her list of choices. Sokka's fumbling admission had confirmed it. Which meant that the Water Tribe boy actually thought that Zuko was worth dragging along on a trip like this. That level of acceptance—small though it was—warmed Zuko. He hoped he held up to Sokka's standards. It felt weird trying to impress someone—he rarely even had tried to impress Uncle—but for some reason he felt himself trying to make Sokka proud of him. Maybe it was because now what people thought of him actually mattered.

But somehow, impressing Sokka was more important to him than impressing anyone else. Katara hated him so there was no impressing her no matter what. Aang was impressed by everything—even when Zuko couldn't 'bend Aang was impressed. Toph was _un_impressed by everything so he didn't bother with her. No one did, as far as he could tell.

But Sokka was different. He couldn't 'bend, but being around 'benders all day every day seemed to have desensitized him, so it was unlikely he was awed by Zuko's "jerkbending". However, that made Zuko think that Sokka's standards were even higher than an actual 'bender's. Everyone else had their innate 'bending talent to fall back on when things got out of hand. Sokka only had his wits and weapons. Zuko knew from experience that those were just as important as creating a wave or an earthquake. Maybe even more important. Zuko had seen what could happen when people became too dependent on their 'bending. Their adeptness became stale and their forms predictable which left them vulnerable to attack. Uncle had taught him to think outside what he had been trained and that had saved his life countless times. Since Sokka had never been trained to control an element, his life depended entirely on that intelligence, ingenuity and ability to adapt instantly to a situation. It was a quality not many people Zuko knew possessed and Sokka had it enough for a dozen men.

Zuko started back toward their chosen campsite. No doubt Sokka had the tent all set up with a couple of fish ready to cook up once Zuko got there to start the fire. Not that Sokka would be trying to show off. Of course he was rather full of himself when he actually thought about it, but it was surprising how unaware of himself he could be when he was in full Sokka-mode. Zuko may not have seen Sokka as a hunter before this, but he certainly had had his share of seeing the boy in full warrior mode. Not only when he had been after the Avatar—which had been impressive enough—but now when he trained. Zuko had seen the teen practicing with his sword in the arena more than once and he had to admit the young warrior made quite a sight shirtless, moving gracefully through his steps, sweating and whirling to attack his next "opponent", which was gleefully thrown at him by an all-too-eager-to-assist Toph. The teen was lean and well-muscled; all clean limbs and narrow waist and darkly tanned skin and cerulean eyes…

Zuko stumbled to a halt. Where had _that_ come from? Just admiring a fellow warrior…right?

_I don't think that much admiring is really necessary…_ Zuko frowned. He didn't really think of Sokka… that way… anyway. He was a fellow warrior. A new ally. A potential friend. That was it. Nothing more.

Zuko scowled at the ground and started walking again. Yes, it was true that Sokka was an attractive young man. Very attractive. But he was… he was _Sokka_. Even if he liked Sokka—um—_that_ way, there was no way Sokka felt the same way. Sokka was about as masculine as you could get—if you ignored what he had heard about the shopping, matching belts and bags and fascination with new clothes… he couldn't really add the ponytail to that list. And, really, Uncle was pretty much the same way with shopping so, yes, he could ignore all that. Which meant Sokka was just about as masculine as you could get which meant he was right out of Zuko's league.

Not that Zuko cared. Wasn't even interested. At all. Nope. Wasn't the least bit interested in that dark-haired, caramel-skinned, blue-eyed, lean-muscled, awkwardly graceful, sarcastic, funny pain in the…

_Fuck_.

"Ah!" Zuko grabbed at his hair as he stumbled to a halt. "How could this _happen_?"

How _could_ this happen? The more he thought about it, the more Zuko knew this wasn't just an instant-revelation thing. Even while hunting the Avatar Zuko had noticed Sokka. Had noticed the way he fought, the way he refused to back down, the way he managed to wriggle in an irritatingly witty comment every chance he got. Had noticed the way his blue eyes got dark when he was angry. Had noticed that smug grin and the way his muscles moved when he threw that boomerang—how his face lit up every time.

_Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck. Fuck_.

"Fine." Zuko kicked at a random patch of dirt. "Fine! So now what?"

So now you're sharing a tent with the guy for how many days? No one around…

"And he's sick." Zuko reminded himself. "Just… ignore it. Ignore him. You'll both be fine and then you can go back to hiding in that damned room…"

That room so far removed from everyone else. Zuko didn't dare ask to sleep with the rest of them, but he hated being so removed from the group. Three years on a ship had made for cramped living space, but he hadn't realized how used to it he had become. Even with his own room he could still hear everything—men talking in the corridor, footsteps on the deck above him, his uncle snoring in the room beside his. It was even more pronounced when they were forced onto an even smaller ship.

When Zuko and Uncle had traveled together, the nights had been nearly as noisy as the ship. Caves were good for echoes and Iroh's snores could _echo_. Even the palace hadn't been quite!

But here… here it was so much different. In the daytime it wasn't so bad. From his window he could hear the sound of practicing and laughing—Appa and Momo groaning and chittering at each other. Plus he was usually tired from a few hours of practice with Aang, which helped. But at night it was so quiet. And the quiet was lonely—and dangerous. It gave him too much time to himself—too much time to think. And Zuko had a lot to think about… most of it stuff he didn't _want_ to think about.

Zuko growled, but even to him it sounded more like a moan. He gave another half-hearted kick at the ground before he started walking again. He forced Sokka out of his mind as best he could—which was easier said than done—and tried to get back to camp as quickly as he could. By now Sokka was probably wondering what hole Zuko had fallen into and whether it was worth coming to look for him.

Zuko grimaced at the last thought, which had been rather uncharitable of him. Sokka would come looking for him. He knew he would. Sokka was just that kind of a guy.

_So much for not thinking about him_.

Zuko sighed. It was going to be a long couple of days.


	3. Chapter 3

Zuko had been right. Even sick Sokka had finished before him. When the Firebender reached the place they had agreed to camp he saw the tent already set up. There was no sign of Sokka, however.

Zuko stopped at the edge of their little clearing and stretched, groaning contentedly when he felt something in his back pop. Despite having been moving from place to place with Uncle, Zuko had fewer skills than he would have liked when it came to "roughing" it. Setting the snares, though easier after the first few, had been harder than Zuko had expected. His shoulders and back were sore from all the crouching and bending required to pull everything into place.

Zuko rolled his shoulders, feeling more muscles popping back into some semblance of normalcy. He grimaced when a few twinged, telling him that they would not be so easily relieved. He needed a bath.

Their tent wasn't far from where Zuko had camped when waiting for the team to show up. He knew the area better than he would have liked and remembered there was a stream with a series of small pools a few yards into the trees. The idea of a soak and a scrub with the soft sand at the bottom of one of the pools was too good for Zuko to pass up. Besides, Sokka would probably be back at the tent by the time Zuko was finished and they could discuss their plans for tomorrow.

Zuko found the stream without too much trouble. He stripped eagerly, hanging his clothes over a nearby branch. He imagined Sokka's voice in his head teasing him for his princely fastidiousness.

Then he imaged Sokka seeing him naked.

The splash of Zuko hitting the cold water sounded like someone had dropped Appa into the pool. He came up spluttering, shivering from the frigid temperature. It was all he could think of to get ideas out of his head, natural progression be damned.

How? _How_ did that damned Water Tribe… _peasant_ keep wriggling into his thoughts? To hell with him being a sixteen year old boy. He was a Fire Nation _prince_ for spirits' sake! No matter how much he may have changed over the past year, he should still have had better control over himself. And yet it seemed no matter what Zuko thought, Sokka was always there. Those teasing blue eyes and that seemingly permanent self-assured, cocky grin.

And suddenly Zuko's thoughts were filled with Sokka. He could see him in his imagination, laughing as he jumped into the cold pool. He would be able to deal with the cold more easily than could Zuko. He would shake the water out of his hair, the dark brown strands sticking out at odd angles. The sun would glimmer on wet skin and his grin would be simply infectious. Zuko could feel himself grinning already. He could see his pale hands on Sokka's dark arms; feel the cool skin beneath his. Could see Sokka's grin go from mischievous to something much more promising. Could feel his cool hand wrapping around his—

Zuko groaned and sank a little deeper into the water. It wasn't nearly as cold now as it had been. The water was almost hot, rising with Zuko's own temperature. It wasn't helping at all to clear Zuko's head of such… unbidden images. Unbidden, but not unwelcome despite how much he would have liked to say otherwise. And the heated water was only making his thoughts more… immodest.

Zuko moaned and wrapped his hand around his cock, already half-hard thinking about Sokka; imagining Sokka's hand moving up and down his eager dick. He pumped faster and harder until, gasping Sokka's name, he released into the hot water. He moaned again and lost his footing on the soft sand, spluttering for air as he came to the surface again. He coughed and blushed, even though he knew there was no one around to see him. Still… he had just jerked himself off to _Sokka_.

"Enough." Zuko growled. He dove beneath the water and grabbed a handful of sand from the bottom of the pool. He scrubbed at his skin with more force than was probably necessary, rubbing until he was red. He rinsed away the coarse sand with the unnaturally heated water before he got out. He dried himself—at least Firebenders never had to worry about whether or not they had towels—and dressed again. He made sure he had himself under control before he started back toward the camp.

"Now stop this nonsense." Zuko growled to himself as he moved through the trees. If he allowed himself to keep along this train of thought then sharing a tent with the Water Tribe teen was going to be considerably less comfortable. For both of them.

Zuko reentered the little clearing where they had set up camp. He looked around, slightly surprised to still see no Sokka. Maybe the teen had gone hunting. Zuko hoped he hadn't. First, Sokka's coughing would just frighten off anything he was likely to try to catch. Second, Zuko just didn't like the idea of Sokka being out there by himself, sick as he was.

As if on cue he heard the sound of Sokka's hacking coughs coming from inside the tent. Zuko hurried over, poking his head in to see what state Sokka had gotten himself into.

It took a moment for Zuko's eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. It didn't take long, however, to see that setting up the tent was more than the Water Tribe hunter should have done on his own. The teen was curled up on top of his sleeping roll, shivering and struggling through coughs that were sounding somehow deeper and wetter. Entirely unhealthy, either way.

Zuko wavered near the entrance of the tent. Sokka looked weak and helpless. Zuko's heart almost broke when he heard the younger teen whimper slightly when he managed to take a deep breath in an attempt to recover from his coughing. The boy squeezed his eyes shut and groaned, rubbing at his chest as he went back to taking short, shallow breaths. His skin was flushed and his hair was coming loose from its tie. Dark strands fell across his face, making him look somehow younger.

Zuko wanted to help. More than that, something inside him _urged_ him to help Sokka. He couldn't stand seeing Sokka—someone so confident and strong and… _alive_—looking so helpless and drained.

Zuko let the tent flap fall closed behind him. He moved into the darker space of the tent and knelt in front of Sokka and gently touched his shoulder. Sokka looked up at him with heavy, fever-bright eyes. His skin was hot and dry beneath Zuko's hand.

"Sokka, you need help. You're sick." Zuko said, wincing at how lame that last sounded. Of course Sokka was sick. But the teen shook his head weakly, burying his face into the thick padding of his sleeping roll.

"Be okay." He rasped, his voice hoarse and phlegm and heart-wrenchingly exhausted. "Jus' flu. Better soon."

Zuko frowned and nibbled gently on his bottom lip. Sokka was probably right—it was probably just a little sickness that, with a few more days' sleep, would just get coughed out. But seeing him like this was… distressing.

Zuko may not have been sick much, but not everyone from the Fire Nation was as resilient as a Firebender. Following a particularly nasty storm several months before, a few of his crew had gotten sick. Most of them had gotten over it in a few days, but one man had been laid up for over a month. He had coughed himself beyond hoarse, to the point where they were seeing blood mixed with the phlegm his body was fighting to get out of his lungs. He had shivered so violently that at times Zuko had been convinced he was going to break. Uncle Iroh had told Zuko later that if he hadn't taken it upon himself to help him, the man would have died.

Zuko _had_ seen people die from it in the Earth Kingdom. Had seen them lying weakly on thin pads of straw, shaking and coughing up ropes of bloody saliva, so exhausted they could barely manage even that.

They had started just like Sokka.

"But you're stronger than that, aren't you?" Zuko murmured, combing his fingers through the loose strands of hair falling across Sokka's unnaturally hot forehead. Sokka murmured something in his sleep (or what was at least passing for sleep) and leaned slightly into the touch. Zuko smiled sadly and pulled off his tunic, laying it across Sokka's shoulders. He would have felt better if Sokka's fever broke, but the boy's skin remained stubbornly dry.

Zuko sighed and moved to his own sleeping roll, laying down with his back to Sokka. He stared at the opposite wall of the tent, listening to the other's breathing—interrupted from time to time by weak coughs—until he fell asleep.

0o0

Zuko woke up to darkness, the setting sun plunging the tent into deeper shadows. He stretched, trying to make as little sound as possible, and grimaced when he heard his stomach growl accusingly. No dinner. Right.

Zuko shifted, wondering if he could sneak into his pack without waking Sokka. The young warrior needed his…

Zuko sat up in alarm. He held his breath, but he still couldn't hear the sound of Sokka breathing when he should have only been a few inches away. Panic gripped his chest as he formed a small flame. He was torn between relief and greater concern when he saw that the boy wasn't in the tent at all.

"Shit." Zuko got to the entrance and shoved aside the flap. He heated his little flame, hoping he would see Sokka in the brighter light. He groaned when he saw him, crumpled on the ground not far from the tent, barely visible in the darkness.

Zuko swore again and ran to the boy, kneeling beside him. The teen was curiously naked and was curled, shivering, in the dirt. Zuko could hear his teeth chattering. His hair, now completely loose, obscured half his face, making his expression unreadable in the night.

"Spirits." He touched his shoulder. Still way too hot and no sweat. "Damn."

Zuko extinguished his flame and wrapped his arms around the younger teen, trying to haul him to his feet. Sokka groaned and mumbled something unintelligible. Zuko grimaced.

"Fuck, Sokka. You are heavier than you look." Zuko grunted. Sokka muttered something else that sounded like "all muscle" but otherwise wasn't much help. Zuko growled as he got Sokka's arm around his shoulders and his own arm around the Water Tribe's narrow waist so he could half-walk, half-haul him into the tent. He was none too gentle when he dropped the boy back onto his sleeping roll.

"Ow." Sokka moaned, weakly reproachful.

Zuko knelt down in front of the younger teen and brushed his hair out of his flushed face. He thought vaguely that he was becoming too used to being able to touch the Water Tribe hunter this intimately, but he couldn't stop himself from offering comfort, small though it was. Right now Sokka seemed especially responsive to it and Zuko remembered vaguely that fevers left the skin hypersensitive.

"Spirits, Sokka, you need help. I can't watch you get worse." Zuko murmured, his voice hardly audible to himself. He doubted Sokka would hear him. He was surprised when Sokka cracked his eyes open and looked up at Zuko. He smiled weakly.

"'Kay." He whispered. "Don' sound like bad idea now."

Zuko chewed at his lip, wondering how coherent the teen really was. He didn't want to do anything that Sokka wasn't prepared for and from what Uncle had told him, Firebender healing was not the same as Waterbender healing. It was much more… intense. Iroh's face had been grim when he had told him, confirming for Zuko that people didn't normally seek out Firebender healers for a reason.

"What's my name, Sokka?" The question sounded inane, but he wanted something that would be easy to answer if Sokka was in a sound frame of mind. Sokka managed another weak grin.

"Zuko. Jerkbender." He clarified. He shivered. "What help?"

"We need to burn out the sickness. You're already burning up. If your fever doesn't break soon…"

Sokka mirrored Zuko's grimace.

"Bad." He muttered hoarsely, shuddering.

"Bad." Zuko nodded, resting his hand on Sokka's forehead again. Sokka shivered again. "I'm going to help you burn it out. Hopefully…"

Sokka frowned up at Zuko. "Hope…?"

Zuko managed a feeble smile. "I've never actually done it before. But… I don't think I can really make it much worse."

Sokka chuckled, but grimaced when it turned into a wet cough. When he caught his breath he looked up at Zuko again, his eyes too bright but surprisingly focused.

"Agreed." He muttered hoarsely.


	4. Chapter 4

It had never occurred to Sokka that the Fire Nation might have healers. He felt rather foolish now since how else were they expected to stay healthy, but he still couldn't wrap his head around the idea that _Zuko_ knew anything about healing. Once again, however, he found himself feeling a bit silly. After all, he wasn't a healer but Sokka knew a thing or two about keeping a body in one piece. It should have occurred to him that Zuko would have picked something up himself while spending all those years…um…abroad.

Still, he doubted that Firebending healing was the same as Waterbending healing. The few times Katara had healed him the power had been gentle and curiously probing. When it found the source of hurt it had gently wrapped itself around it like a living bubble. It wasn't as if her power took over his body. More like it simply encouraged his own body to hurry itself along—but always gentle, always cool, like a stream through a deep pool. You could feel it, but only just.

But that was how water worked—gentle, but urgent. Flexible, but persistent. It was an element that formed around obstacles instead of just going through them. From what Sokka had seen of Firebenders—which was more than he would have ever wanted to, quite frankly—they worked rather differently. They were all about power, about head-on attack. There was no adapting and there was no going _around_. There was only forward with as much force as possible. It was unyielding, violent and stubborn. Not too dissimilar from Earthbenders, really.

And entirely unsuited to healing, in Sokka's non-too humble opinion.

Luckily for Zuko, Sokka wasn't really in a state to complain or voice his concerns. He had hoped he had only been unlucky enough to catch a cold or something equally as irritating. As the days passed, he decided it was probably a flu—more irritating, but still something doable in the "I can ignore you for a few days without dying" area.

However, as the day had progressed and Sokka had pushed himself to work through the discomfort of being sick, it began to dawn on him that this had the potential to be much worse. His coughing had turned from dry hacking to something disturbingly thick that made his chest ache. By the time he had set all his snares, it hurt just to draw a deep breath and doing so usually only brought on more coughing. He had been forced to keep his breathing quick and shallow, which had only succeeded in making him more light-headed.

All in all, his health had been steadily declining all day and by the time he had finished setting up the tent, he was miserable. He also felt like an idiot. Being in a climate ripe for making people sick if they were stubborn enough to stay out too long, Sokka should have known that a cough like his could turn into pneumonia. And that wasn't something to fuck with. More than one hunter in his tribe had died from it after falling through the ice or getting caught in a storm or simply not dressing warm enough for the day. Sokka knew it was also ridiculously easy to catch when under stress—and his life had been nothing but stressful the past few months. It was a wonder he hadn't caught it sooner.

He could probably thank Aang's damned frozen frogs for that.

So when Zuko had told him he could probably help Sokka, he was willingly to let him try. The Firebender was right, after all—at this point he couldn't make it much worse. As far as he knew, Katara's brand of healing was more suited for bodily injury, but not necessarily for disease. It made sense, really. A human body was eager to heal, so it usually only took a little gentle prodding from a Waterbender to get it moving in the right direction. Disease was stubborn—an invader. It wasn't eager to go anywhere and fuck you for trying. The more Sokka thought about it the more it made sense that Firebenders would be the one more capable of healing sickness. Maybe the old saying was right. Maybe sometimes you really _did_ need to fight fire with fire.

"What… you going to do?" Sokka asked, wincing when his dry throat rasped painfully. Zuko had moved out of his line of sight, but he could hear him rustling somewhere behind him. When he spoke he sounded nervous—which didn't make Sokka any more confident.

"We need to force your body to sweat out the fever. It won't heal you over night, but I think it should at least get the process started. Uncle said he had to sweat out the fever over the course of a few days, but it should still work."

Sokka felt Zuko lie down behind him, then fit himself tight against his back. He moved to press himself flush against Sokka. He pushed a leg between Sokka's thighs so he could wriggle closer—chest to back. He wrapped his arms around his slender frame—one hand resting on his belly, the other on his chest. He pressed his face against the curve of Sokka's neck, where it met his shoulder.

"Wha—" Sokka's voice squeaked. He swallowed and tried again. "What are you doing?"

"From what Uncle told me, a Firebender uses their own heat to raise the body temperature of the person they're healing. This seemed like the quickest way to do it."

"Hrr…Hmm." Sokka mumbled intelligently.

Thanks to the fever, Sokka's skin was almost unbearably sensitive. Things that he would have hardly noticed earlier seemed to tweak his every sense. He was pretty sure he could even feel the individual hairs on his head. To say that he was aware of Zuko's warm body pressed tight against his own, of Zuko's breath brushing the short delicate hairs on Sokka's neck, of how close Zuko's hand was to… certain parts of his anatomy was the understatement of the year. Of the whole fucking war. When Zuko shifted slightly, pressing tighter against his back, it was all Sokka could do to bite back a moan.

Sokka then began to feel the warmth flowing into him. There was heat spreading from Zuko into Sokka's skin, most concentrated where Zuko's body was flush with his own. He could feel it in his chest and his belly where Zuko had splayed his broad, white hands. He could feel it against the crook of his throat. He could feel it all along his back and, most distractingly of all, between his legs. It was wonderfully intense and as it spread through his body Sokka didn't bother to stifle his groan. He was surprised, however, when he heard Zuko's answering moan. The Firebender pressed his face into Sokka's skin.

Zuko's plan was probably going to work a bit differently than he expected.

If the prince objected, Sokka could just cover his embarrassment under the excuse of being feverish. It would be lame and a total lie, but would give them both an out. Trying to keep his breathing under control, Sokka rocked backwards. Not hard, but just enough to press just a bit more firmly against the Firebender behind him. Experimenting.

Zuko responded immediately. He felt the Firebender's half-hard cock, trapped against the plane of Sokka's back, as the teen thrust forward, groaning into Sokka's shoulder. The hands splayed against him shuddered, his fingers digging reflexively into the darker skin.

"Fu—Zuko." Sokka moaned, blushing slightly when he heard how desperate he sounded. But Zuko didn't seem to be objecting judging by how he continued to roll his hips against Sokka, his cock rubbing against the Water Tribe's lower back.

Sokka moved his hand to the one Zuko had pressed against his stomach and urged it lower. He felt as much as he heard Zuko's breath hitch when his hot fingers brushed Sokka's full erection. It didn't take much encouragement on Sokka's part for Zuko to wrap his hand around him. Sokka gasped. With his skin as sensitive as it was right now, just feeling Zuko was enough to force him almost to the edge. But when that hand began to move, slow and cautious, Sokka thought he would pass out. He thrust into Zuko's hand, abandoning any attempt to muffle the noises escaping him and ignoring Zuko's attempts to go slow.

Sokka felt Zuko's teeth against his shoulder, biting down as he began to pump Sokka in time with his own frantic thrusts against the Water Tribe's back. Zuko's temperature had flared dramatically, sinking into Sokka through his back and chest as they moved against each other, and the tent was uncomfortably hot. Sokka was too distracted by Zuko's to care. The Fire Nation prince was surprisingly talented and seemed to enjoy hearing the different sounds Sokka made when he _twisted_ just so, or rubbed his thumb across the tip, smearing his hand with the pre-cum beaded there. The leg between Sokka's thighs pressed upward, rubbing against Sokka's too-sensitive balls.

Sokka cried out, arching against Zuko as he felt his passion overwhelm him.

"Z—Zuko!" it came out like a sob has he threw back his head, coming into the Firebender's hand. Zuko wasn't far behind, muffling his own cries in Sokka's shoulder as he came against his back. Zuko shuddered against him, wrapping his arms tightly around the younger teen. Neither spoke for several minutes as they each tried to catch their breath.

Zuko moved slightly away and when he returned Sokka felt something soft against his skin as the Firebender began cleaning up the signs of their rather unorthodox healing session. Sokka realized it was Zuko's own silk sash when he felt it across his stomach. He found the idea of Zuko cleaning them up with his own clothes both sweet and ridiculously erotic. The Firebender's ministrations were wonderfully tender, however, and lulling Sokka dangerously close to sleep.

Zuko's lips brush against his shoulder, gently kissing the spot where he had bit him. Sokka shivered, his skin still hypersensitive to the simplest touch. He realized he was slick with sweat and if it hadn't been for the intense heat of the Firebender behind him it would have cooled rapidly, leaving him clammy and uncomfortable. Instead, to his surprise, it seemed to be evaporating. He huffed his appreciation. It was a wonder more people didn't seek out Fire Nation healers…

"I think… we sweated it out." Sokka whispered. Zuko's breathy chuckle tickled Sokka's skin.

"I think you're right."

"Your… Uncle taught you that?" Sokka felt Zuko laugh quietly into his back.

"I don't think he did it quite the same way." Zuko admitted.

"And… um… how many times did he say we needed to—er—sweat it out?" Sokka asked cautiously. There was a pause, but Sokka could feel Zuko smiling.

"A couple. He said it took a few days."

"Hmm." Sokka wriggled in Zuko's arms, turning around so he could face the Firebender—ignoring the fact that he couldn't even see him clearly in the darkness. He felt Zuko settle his forehead against his shoulder—the one currently devoid of teeth marks… something Sokka looked forward to remedying in the future. The Firebender used his legs to pull Sokka closer, enveloping him completely in the dozy heat radiating from his body. Sokka sighed melodramatically. "Well, if all your healing sessions go like this one, I really can't find much reason to complain."

Zuko chuckled. "I don't know. You seem to be doing much better."

"I could take a turn for the worse." Sokka assured him. "You better keep a close eye on me."

Zuko sighed into Sokka's shoulder (the sound drowsy and content) and the Water Tribe teen wondered vaguely who would fall asleep first.

"I suppose I can do that. If you insist." He murmured. Sokka smiled, loosing himself in Zuko's blissful warmth.

"I do."


	5. Chapter 5

When Zuko woke up, it was with an unfamiliar weight plastered to his chest and tangled around his legs. For a moment he thought he had gotten snarled in the blankets—he didn't use them often, but it wouldn't have been the first time—and he tried to push them away. To his surprise, they groaned loudly and wrapped tighter around him.

Zuko's eyes snapped open and he looked down. The blankets turned out to be the slim, lanky brown body of a Water Tribe teen. His arms were thrown casually across Zuko's ribs, but his long legs were tangled with Zuko's in a way that would make it impossible for the older boy to move without kicking free.

Zuko blinked slowly. A part of him had rather thought that the previous night had been a dream—realistic, to be sure, but a dream nonetheless. Looking down at the messy tangle of dark brown hair against his chest, Zuko realized with slow and pleasant surprise that last night had been very, very real.

_I believe… Uncle would have called that unorthodox_. Zuko smirked to himself and shifted the arm he had pillowed beneath his head. _Unorthodox, but… effective._

Zuko suddenly became aware of his free hand resting lightly on Sokka's hip. He found himself staring. There was an impressive contrast between his broad, pale hand and the smooth darkness of the Water Tribe teen's skin. He spread his fingers slowly, drinking in the sight of nut-brown skin between his long fingers. He dug his fingers slightly into the darker hip and smiled when Sokka made a remarkably immodest sound in his sleep. Zuko's grin broadened and he slid closer to the sleeping warrior, nudging their hips closer. He felt Sokka's arms tighten around his waist and he moved his eyes to the Water Tribe boy's face. The sight of cerulean eyes, half-lidded and dark with sleepy arousal, sent an electric thrill through him.

"Morning," Zuko whispered softly, moving his hand to Sokka's hair. He pushed his fingers through the dark locks and he grinned when Sokka purred drowsily, tipping his head into the touch.

"Morning." Sokka smiled. He was still obviously a bit hazy with sleep, but Zuko was becoming increasingly aware that parts of the younger teen were waking up a bit faster. Sokka confirmed this when he rocked his hips forward and pressed his fingers into Zuko's back. "So… 'nother healing session?"

Zuko's laugh startled Sokka. He was still used to the grumpy, snappy, angry ex-prince and though he was incredibly turned on by this new sexy, grinning, laughing Zuko… it was still kind of weird. But Sokka didn't really have time to reflect because suddenly he was on his back with Zuko's warm body pressing him into the sleeping roll beneath him. He rested his hands on Zuko's hips and could already feel the Firebender's skin growing hot—whether voluntarily or not, Sokka didn't really care. Zuko noticed, too, and would have pulled back to give himself time to cool off, but Sokka was having none of that. He wrapped his legs behind Zuko's thighs, pulling him close so fast that Zuko had to use his arms on either side of Sokka to brace himself.

"Wh—what did you have in mind?" Zuko choked out, agonizingly aware of Sokka's interest poking into his hip. Sokka smiled and rocked upward and Zuko felt himself grow almost painfully hard when Sokka gasped softly beneath him when his erection rubbed against his heated skin.

"Well…" Sokka was almost panting. It was rather embarrassing, really, how quickly he was losing it and Zuko hadn't even _done_ anything. He had to remind himself that Zuko was incredibly hot—figuratively and otherwise—and so it wasn't really his fault. It was Zuko's. "I was thinking…"

Sokka snaked a hand between them and wrapped his fingers around Zuko. The Firebender moaned and his hips jerked involuntarily into Sokka's touch. The sound sent a thrill through Sokka. Slowly, he moved his hand along Zuko's hard shaft, watching his face while he experimented with pressure and speed. He moved his thumb along the head, smearing the wetness there across his fingers and using it to ease the friction, allowing him to move faster.

Sokka watched Zuko's face while he stroked him. The Firebending ex-prince's eyes fluttered closed as he groaned, rocking into Sokka's hand. His face was contorted into a look of pure ecstasy, with a gentle frown while he concentrated on Sokka's hand and what it was doing between his legs. His mouth was open, gasping, and when his tongue flicked unconsciously across along the inside of his lips, Sokka almost lost it. His fist _twisted_ reflexively in response and Zuko's head was thrown back as he cried out. The sound, primal and filled with raw passion, sent a hot ripple of desire straight through to Sokka's cock.

Zuko's thick black hair, damp with sweat, fell across his face, obscuring the scar across his left eye. Sokka's strokes faltered slightly when Zuko turned his face back toward him again, giving him a wonderful view while the exiled prince gasped and groaned above him.

Sokka realized he had never noticed how… beautiful… the older teen was. So often Sokka's eyes were drawn to that scar—he knew everyone's were—but he had always been aware that Zuko was a handsome young man. More than once he had found himself admiring the clean, well-muscled lines of his arms and chest. He had also noticed that, if not for the scar, Zuko would probably have been a very attractive member of the Fire Nation. Now, though, with his pale skin flush and his thick lashes dark against his flawless right cheek, that 'probably' became a 'definitely' and 'attractive' became… well, gorgeous.

"Sokka…" Zuko panted, breaking through Sokka's tumbling thoughts, "Sokka—gonna—ah…"

Sokka could feel the shiver going through Zuko, confirming his faltering warnings. The Firebender's skin grew almost unbearably hot, but Sokka's legs behind Zuko's hips wouldn't have allowed the teen to break away even if he had had any desire to do so. Instead he reached up and tangled his free hand in Zuko's hair, pulling the teen's face down against his own. Zuko grunted in surprise when his hot lips were pressed against Sokka's, but then he was coming hard into Sokka's hand and that overrode every other sensation. He moaned loudly against Sokka's mouth, snapping his hips erratically and gasping. Sokka's tongue was passed his lips, running along the inside of his mouth, kissing him passionately as he stroked Zuko through his orgasm.

Zuko had to break away simply to breathe. He looked down at Sokka and if he hadn't already spent himself, he would have come simply from the look on the younger teen's face. His dark skin was flushed—both from his own inner heat and from Zuko's— and his pupils so wide that his eyes were blacker than blue. His kiss-swollen red lips were parted as he panted for air, staring up Zuko with a look of astonishment on his face. Zuko could relate. Weirdly enough, he hadn't ever suspected that their unusual "healing" sessions would involve anything like kissing—of that sort, anyway. Somehow that was even more personal than jerking each other off… and he couldn't say he was upset. The dual sensation of having Sokka's tongue between his lips while his hands had been doing unbelievably hot things between his legs had been… well, more than enough to push him over the edge. The look on Sokka's face told Zuko that similar thoughts were filtering brokenly through the Water Tribesman's sex-fuzzy brain.

Zuko couldn't stop himself from leaning down, licking his tongue into the young warrior's mouth. Immediately Sokka was sucking him in deeper, pulling him closer with his legs and twining both hands into the Firebender's tangle of black hair. Sokka moaned into Zuko's mouth and rocked upward, his still hard cock thrusting into the curve of Zuko's pale hip. Zuko felt bad that he had forgotten about Sokka's own arousal, but he suspected that the warrior would forgive him for his lapse.

Zuko broke the kiss, but Sokka's protests ended as soon as the Firebender's hot mouth began roaming down the curve of his throat, along his shoulder, down his chest. Sokka groaned and arched into him while his tongue licked a trail across Sokka's still-too-sensitive skin. When he reached those delightfully hard nipples, he couldn't resist nipping at them gently with his teeth. It was worth it to hear Sokka groan so loud that Zuko could feel the sound vibrating through the Tribesman's chest. Zuko spent a few more minutes lavishing attention on those sensitive little nubs, but Sokka was gasping above him, tugging at his hair and writhing distractingly.

"Z—Zuko. P—please. I need… need… oh, spirits, Zuko." Sokka gasped. The poor boy was painfully aroused and though he was thoroughly enjoying Zuko's intensive ministrations, he was really looking forward to them moving a bit lower. Zuko was happy to oblige. His hot lips skimmed along Sokka's torso, relishing the smoothness of skin against his fingers and mouth. He decided he enjoyed the taste of Water Tribe sweat as he lapped at Sokka's skin, just below his navel. He bit gently at the sensitive area and Sokka groaned again, the sound dirty and filled with wordless arousal. Zuko enjoyed how the teen's voice quavered as he sucked at the teeth marks, enjoyed the feeling of slim fingers twisting in his hair. He kissed the inside of Sokka's thigh, continued to nip and suck and lick along the silky smoothness of both legs until Sokka was almost bucking beneath him, begging wordlessly for Zuko to get _on_ with it. Not that this wasn't wonderful, but _seriously_.

Zuko wasn't one to disappoint. He licked the tip of Sokka's cock, tasting the bitter pre-cum leaking from the tip. With no more warning than that, Zuko opened his mouth and took Sokka in as far as he could.

The heat of Zuko's mouth was unbearable and Sokka wanted _more_. He bucked upward, or tried to, but Zuko's burning hands on his thighs kept him from thrusting too deeply. He moaned as Zuko's tongue swirled around the head of Sokka's dick, probing at the tip until Sokka was almost throwing Zuko's hands off him as he bucked and thrust and wriggled.

One of Zuko's hands moved to Sokka's stomach, spreading his fingers across his smooth skin and caressing gently. _Calm down_, the touch said, _take it easy._

Sokka tried. He didn't want to hurt either of them but—_fuck_. The sight of that shock of black hair, bobbing up and down between his legs, while he… sprits, it was too much.

Zuko sucked—hard—and his fingers tumbled deftly around Sokka's tight balls. The hands fisted in Zuko's hair were almost painful when they pulled, but Zuko could have cared less. He simply did his best to swallow as Sokka released into his mouth, crying out and arching until it looked like he was bending in half beneath Zuko. Zuko had to pull back when he couldn't take any more and stroked Sokka gently as the teen finished, gasping weakly above him.

Sokka's fingers tugged at Zuko's hair and the Firebender crawled back up to the mouth waiting for him. Their kiss was deep and lasted as long as they could manage in their breathless state.

Zuko rested his forehead against Sokka's, closing his eyes.

"That… was one hell of a 'good morning'." He murmured. Sokka chuckled and wrapped his arms around Zuko's waist.

"Hmmm." Sokka hummed. "But one I could get used to."

Which rather begged the question of how many mornings like this there would be to 'get used to', but neither was prepared to broach that subject just yet. Not yet.

"Don't fall asleep on me now, buddy." Sokka muttered when he felt Zuko's weight settle a bit against him. "We still have work to do today."

Zuko lifted his head and stared down at Sokka in disbelief. The Water Tribe warrior had Firebender cum smeared all over his stomach, and had managed to get more than a bit into Zuko's hair, and he was reminding him that they had snares to check?

"Are you _serious_?" Surely not. Sure, Zuko was hungry and the idea of fresh meat was tempting, but the whole idea of getting up, getting dressed, and marching through the forest was a bit difficult to wrap his head around when he was still recovering from a rather… extraordinary… orgasm.

"Well," Sokka drawled lazily, "I could stand a swim before we get walking." His voice lowered to something that assured something more promising than what he was suggesting and his hands wandered distractingly along Zuko's back. "Would you care to join me?"

Zuko looked down at Sokka and couldn't resist brushing his fingers through the dark hair across his forehead. He smiled—and what did that say when _that_ was enough to start up the faint stirrings of arousal again—and brushed his lips against Sokka's.

"I believe I could be convinced."


	6. Chapter 6

Their "swim" in Zuko's pool had been more than enough to get them properly refreshed for the day. After drying off on the bank—Zuko helping them both along—it was time to get to work. Zuko did not consider himself to be a lazy person, but he was not really looking forward to tramping through the woods hauling around a brace of dead animals (or, more likely, empty snares) when he could have been inside a tent making a reality out of fantasies he had only just allowed himself to indulge in. He was having fun with Sokka—and when was the last time he had had fun doing _anything_—but the Water Tribe boy seemed bent on making his life that little bit more frustrating.

At first he had been surprised at how eager Sokka was to get back to the point of them being up here in the first place—the boy was sick, after all—but in no uncertain terms Sokka reminded him that the fastest way to make him feel better was to feed him. Not only did the entire team need fresh meat, but Sokka did, too. The protein would go a long way to helping him fight off whatever was still lingering about him.

"Don't worry." Sokka grinned at Zuko as they pulled their clothes back on. "You'll get to help, too."

This left Zuko alone in the woods once again. Disappointingly, his first couple snares had been empty. He couldn't claim to actually be surprised, however. Zuko did not think he would ever be an adept at catching his own food. He grimaced. Even as the Blue Spirit he had simply resorted to thieving—which was not a noble way to get anything, including food. He realized that this little act of snaring was a quiet way of him regaining his honor. Joining forces with the Avatar had only been the first step on a path that would require many more.

He left the snares where they were, hoping that he would get lucky before they headed back to the temple below, and went off to check the last few.

Honor. It was a thing that was never far from Zuko's thoughts. It had taken him a long time before he felt as if he had any control over his life. As far as he had known, everything he wanted or needed had to be given to him from an outside source. It had been both terrifying and liberating to finally—_finally _—realize that he was capable of controlling his own destiny. And regaining his honor was the first step. His biggest obstacle had been joining the Avatar's team. So far it had been worth it, if a bit lonely. He didn't know if he would ever be fully accepted, but at least he could do his part.

Zuko frowned. He was being unfair. It hadn't taken much for Aang to warm to him. But, then, he was the Avatar _and_ a monk. It was in his nature. However, even he had admitted to him that Zuko wasn't really a part of their group. Not yet.

Toph had been on his side from the beginning… then he had burned her, which had been bad. But she had been pretty quick to accept him, too. Again, however, he wondered if that was her giving him a chance out of good will or simply because she saw the necessity of Aang having a Firebending teacher.

He certainly knew Katara's thoughts on the subject…

Sokka was interesting, however. Like the others, he hadn't trusted him initially—and how could Zuko blame him for it?—but as soon as Aang had given his consent to let Zuko join them, Sokka had been the first to make Zuko feel like one of the team. And now…

Zuko felt himself blush.

And now, _what_? What were they to each other now? They had started as enemies. Now they were allies. Perhaps they were friends. And now they were… Zuko had no idea what they were now.

Zuko wondered if he would have been as quick to join the Avatar if he had known things would become this complicated. And there was another issue bothering him.

What were they to become? Zuko hadn't once considered the fact that Sokka may have felt the same desire for the Firebender as Zuko had for him. And he still couldn't be sure, really… What they were doing now, they were doing quietly removed from the rest of the group. What would happen when they returned? Would things just go back to normal? Would he go back to spending his nights alone while Sokka slept around a fire with his teammates littered around him? Or would things be different? And if they _were_ different, what would happen then? Aang would be confused, but he'd be polite enough to ignore it. Toph… well, Toph would probably just go with it because she legitimately didn't care.

Katara wouldn't approve. She wouldn't approve in the same way a mother saber-toothed mooselion didn't approve of someone coming between her and her cub. Someone was liable to get hurt—and that someone would inevitably be Zuko. Which led to the question: was Zuko willing to let things go back to normal so he could avoid that confrontation, or did he want… something else? And if he did, would Sokka?

Zuko swore and tugged irritably at his hair. There were way too many questions and not nearly enough answers. This was all too much to think about right now. He needed to just focus on his current task. It would be easier to think once they had real food in their bellies, anyway. They had had a light breakfast before going to the stream, but they hadn't been willing to take much from the rest of the group and it was hard to make rice very interesting. No wonder Sokka had been so eager to go off into the wilderness, pneumonia or no, to get something new to eat.

Zuko followed the game trail he had used to set his snares. The first two empty snares had been disappointing, but not really surprising. Zuko wasn't really expecting anything different further down the line, so he nearly went right on by his third snare. To his surprise, however, it wasn't empty. He knelt down beside the lifeless little body. A rabbitfox—and a big one.

Zuko grinned. He hadn't realized what this meant to him until right now: he had been responsible for providing for someone else purely on his own. No thieving, no bullying, no pulling the Prince card. He had used his own skills to catch food. He hadn't thought he would be this proud of himself—and he couldn't wait to show Sokka and prove that he wasn't totally worthless.

Zuko grimaced as he pulled the rabbitfox out of the snare. Once again, he was being unfair. From what he had seen, Sokka never thought of anyone as worthless so long as they tried. It was one of the things he liked best about the boy. Sokka knew the value of not giving up versus always getting it right.

Perhaps it was something he and Zuko had in common. Zuko had to work hard for what he had achieved and so had Sokka. Because of it, they both appreciated the value of what they gained. Zuko certainly knew that he valued what he gained for himself now more than anything he had been given when he had still been a legitimate prince of the Fire Nation.

They were good lessons, but hard-learned.

Of his remaining snares, only two more had anything in them and nothing as large as the handsome rabbitfox. But meat was meat and he was proud of himself for managing anything.

Pride. True pride—not the kind he thought he deserved, but the kind he had earned for himself. Three years ago he would have sneered at being proud of himself for catching animals out in the woods with a bit of rope. Spirits, even a year ago he would have found the idea ridiculous. But now… now he understood that before a person could really be proud of themselves in a big way, they had to be proud of themselves for the little things.

No wonder Sokka loved that boomerang of his so much. It was one thing at which he was better than anyone in their group and it was something he had worked hard at to achieve. And his skill with the weapon truly was remarkable. He had taken out Zuko's hired assassin where three 'benders had failed.

Zuko took his prizes—the rabbitfox, a squirrelrat and a small badgermouse—back to the little campsite he was sharing with Sokka. He wasn't at all sure on how to clean them—the few times he had tried with Uncle, there hadn't been much in the way of meat left—so he decided he would leave them so Sokka could show him how. It was late afternoon by the time he arrived—well after lunchtime—and he was hungry. Sokka was nowhere in sight—Zuko checked the tent this time to make sure—and decided he would go to the river. Rice was good enough, but it couldn't hurt to supplement their supplies a bit.

He hadn't had much luck fishing last time he tried it, but perhaps that luck had turned. He was a skilled trapper now.

Zuko chuckled to himself as he hung up his snared animals. He snatched up a bit of line and a hook that Sokka had brought with them and headed for the river. Their little pool probably wasn't going to be ideal for fishing, so he went a bit further downstream where the current was still slow, but where he hoped fish would be attracted to the reeds on the bank.

Apparently he hadn't been the only one to have the idea. To his surprise, Sokka sat on a sun-warmed boulder overlooking the river, limp fishing line dangling in the water. He turned at Zuko's approach and grinned.

"Hey, buddy." He patted the boulder beside him, edging over to make room. He saw Zuko's line and his grin broadened. "I see great minds think alike."

Zuko shrugged and settled beside the darker boy. His skin was warm, but Zuko couldn't tell if it was because of the sun or if Sokka's fever was coming back. The boy looked cheerful enough and he hadn't been coughing as much. His voice still sounded awful, but Zuko assumed it would probably be a while yet before that was fully back to normal.

"My snares were empty, so I thought I'd try to get a bit of fishing in. Otherwise it's rice and river peaches again."

"Oh." Zuko was surprised. "I caught something."

"You did?" Sokka looked at him, his grin a mix of surprise and glee. "Awesome! I knew you were a fast learner. What'd you get?"

After Zuko told him, Sokka nodded.

"The rabbitfox sounds like it will be big enough to bring back. Good job with that one. The fur will be good, too. Maybe we can make it into a hat for you, commemorating your first hunting trip." Sokka laughed. "And since the squirrelrat and the badgermouse are small, I say we keep those for ourselves. Just in case our fishing doesn't pan out."

The fishing didn't pan out, which made Zuko even more proud of himself for being the one to bring back anything for them to eat. Sokka wasn't short on the praise, either. He didn't overdo it, which Zuko appreciated since that would have made him feel like Sokka was just trying to make him feel better. Instead, he simply gave him honest compliments as they worked together to skin and clean the animals. Sokka skinned the rabbitfox himself, since he was the more skilled at it, and helped Zuko clean the other two.

"Not bad." Sokka said as Zuko spitted the two critters over their fire. "I'll make a hunter out of you yet, Jerkbender."

Zuko flashed a crooked grin at Sokka.

0o0

The meal the two of them shared was one of the most companionable ones Zuko had ever experienced. The boys talked and laughed and shared stories as if they had been doing it all their life. Sokka told Zuko stories about growing up in the Southern Water Tribe. Some of them were amusing, others sad, others intense. Most of them, however, showed off how brave and intelligent Sokka was, and yet he never seemed to notice. He bragged when there was little cause to do so, but as soon as he did something that was truly remarkable Sokka seemed to take it in stride as something that simply needed to be done. He just happened to be around to do it.

Zuko told Sokka tales mostly about his three years hunting the Avatar and glossed over the parts of his life that revolved around being a prince of the Fire Nation. Sokka didn't press him about his life as a Fire Nation royal and Zuko was grateful for it. That Zuko and the Zuko he was now felt like two different people. He was still trying to figure out how to piece them together.

Zuko had thought, at first, that reminding Sokka of the months he had spent being chased around the world by a crazy Fire Nation prince would be a bad idea. He had been worried that Sokka would dislike hearing those stories and might be angry with him for putting him through spirits-only-knew what sorts of misery. However, Sokka seemed to enjoy hearing them. Sometimes, when he remembered a time that Zuko spoke of, he would fill in his side of the story. More than once the two of them would end the retelling of what had been, at the time, a frustrating and harrowing experience with tears rolling down their faces while they laughed at each other's mishaps.

The younger boy reminded Zuko a bit of his uncle, actually. Iroh was not one to hold a grudge and forgave easily. Sokka seemed to be of a similar nature. He had every reason to hate Zuko and to harbor ill feelings about their past encounters, but instead he laughed and reminisced about them as if they had been friendly rivals and not life-and-death enemies. It amazed Zuko that Sokka and Katara were related when their personalities were so different. Sokka shrugged when Zuko brought it up, but there was a small frown on his features when he spoke.

"Katara and I started this whole thing completely opposite from where we are now. She was willing to trust anyone with a smile on their face because she had faith in everyone. There was no such thing as a "bad guy" in her opinion. They were all just "misunderstood"… I think she was even willing to give you the benefit of the doubt more than a few times in the beginning.

"I think she just got burned too many times." Sokka glanced at Zuko. "And I'm not just talking about you. I mean, yeah, she's mad at you, but I think you are just getting the brunt of it—which sucks for you, I know. Mostly it's Jet she's mad at. He really made her feel like she had been taken advantage of and now I think she harbors a lot of guilt for being mad at him when he… you know. Died. She's always been emotional and learning that she shouldn't trust everyone has been… hard on her."

Sokka snorted and poked at the embers with a stick. Zuko figured he was doing it more to keep his hands busy than to actually stoke the fire.

"I was the one who started out thinking everyone had an ulterior motive. As far as I was concerned, there was no such thing as a decent Fire Bender and it paid to be suspicious of anyone who offered help for no reason. I guess Jet did a number on me, too, but to the opposite effect.

"And maybe some of that Avatar stuff rubbed off on me." Sokka shrugged. "You wouldn't be who you were now if it hadn't been for all that. I wouldn't be who I was, either, for that matter. I mean, if someone had asked me a year ago I would have been ready to string you up and dump you in the ocean just for being a Firebender. But now… I don't know. A lot of people who I wouldn't have trusted before leaving the South Pole have saved my life, or my friends' lives, and never once asked for anything in return. Some of them were Firebenders. Some of them got in trouble for helping us… I learned a lot about people and a lot of it had to do with you as much as with Aang. So all of that crap with you chasing us around the world… I guess it was good for both of us."

Sokka stabbed at the fire with his branch, causing the flames to flare up. The Water Tribe boy chuckled.

"Still… can't say that I would have thought that, in a million years, I'd be sitting next to an exiled Fire Nation prince who had once chased me around the world and now was someone I was proud to call my friend." Sokka grinned into the fire. "Life's funny that way."

Zuko looked at Sokka in surprise. He had hoped they were becoming friends—though their relationship was still indefinable for him—but it was something else entirely to hear Sokka say it himself. He turned back to the fire.

"Yeah." Zuko agreed softly. "It is."

The two of them stayed up well into the night, talking around the fire. Sokka had, unconsciously, slid closer to the warmth radiating off Zuko all night until they were sitting shoulder to shoulder. The night wasn't especially cool, which led Zuko to fear that there was still a lingering fever. He wasn't going to broach the subject, however. Sokka was stubborn when it came to his health. He just hoped the boy would be more willing to ask for his help if it came to it again.

Besides, he liked the feeling of Sokka sitting snug beside him. He wasn't used to this level of companionship, but it felt nice. And with Sokka it felt… natural. He felt like he could let his guard down and be himself and Sokka wouldn't judge him for it. It had been a long time since he had felt this comfortable with anyone and he hadn't realized how much it cost him to keep people at arm's length—or how much it hurt to be kept there.

A part of him wished it was just the two of them. That there was no one waiting for them to return. That there was no war, no Fire Nation, no Water Tribe. That there was no Fire Lord or Avatar. That there were just two boys out camping, sharing stories and laughing and simply enjoying being with each other. Friends who had met by happenstance.

Instead they were two former enemies from opposite ends of the world who were caught up in something that was much too big for them. Something that had brought them together, but which could just as easily tear them apart again. It made Zuko feel small and vulnerable and terribly alone.

But then Sokka shifted beside him and Zuko was reminded that he wasn't alone. Not really. And whatever was going to happen, he would at least have one person willing to stand beside him. At least for a little while.

Zuko looked up, taking in the vastness of the sky spread out over them.

"Now what?" Zuko asked quietly. He didn't know who he questioned—if it was himself or Sokka or the Universe itself. But it was Sokka who wrapped his hand around his and pulled him up to his feet with him. It was Sokka who stood beside him and looked up at the same vast sky and seemed to make it a little less frightening. And it was Sokka who sighed contentedly and squeezed his hand gently.

"Now we go to bed."

Zuko was content with that answer.

**Note: Sorry it took so bloody long for an update! Thanks for being patient and thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Now that I'm gearing up for winter, hopefully I will be able to start writing a bit more again. :D**


	7. Chapter 7

If Zuko's exhaustion level was anything to go by, it was much later than he had originally thought. He had every intention of following Sokka's advice and going to bed. It had been a long day. Productive, and in more ways than one—but long and he was tired.

Sokka had assured him earlier that they were going to be hunting—not just trapping—in the coming few days and Zuko held no delusions as to whether he was going to be any good at it. Short of burning them to a crisp where they stood or chasing after them flailing a pair of swords, he didn't think he was going to be much help. He was also pretty sure he was going to need all of his strength and concentration to keep up with Sokka, sick or no.

So sleep sounded like a really good idea. Now all he had to do was get his mind to catch up with the rest of him and he would be good. He should have known, of course, that that wasn't going to work.

Zuko lay on his back for what felt like a very long time—though it was probably only a few minutes—listening to Sokka breathing beside him. The Water Tribe boy was lying close to him, with his back pressed along the length of Zuko's body. Zuko could feel the heat coming off him—a bit too warm, but not quite hot enough to be worrying—and he yearned to reach out and touch him. He could tell the younger boy wasn't asleep from the way he breathed, but he was unwilling to speak or move in case Sokka was actually _trying_ to sleep. The last thing he needed was an irritable Water Tribe hunter in the morning. With sharp pointy weapons.

So he lay on his bedroll staring up at the low, dark ceiling of their tent, with his hands linked across his chest and let his thoughts roll aimlessly across his mind like the curling waves of an incoming tide. He knew there was little point in trying to stop them, so he just let them run their course.

Inevitably, they rolled right back to the boy lying next to him.

They had yet to talk about anything that had happened between them. He didn't know if that was because they both simply never thought about it, or if they were both avoiding the topic. To be sure, Zuko thought about it often enough to have the material for several hours worth of one-sided conversations.

Zuko wasn't quite sure when he started to see Sokka as something other than "that Water Tribe peasant". Certainly he had noticed him since their first encounter, which felt like so long ago, on the ice of the South Pole. But it was hard to miss a boy like Sokka. Outside of the Poles, he had very unique features. He had a distinct personality and he kept company with a talented Waterbender and the Avatar. He was hardly unnoticeable. But Zuko's interest in him at the time had been of detached curiosity.

He was pretty sure.

He had only just realized that his interest in Sokka went way beyond "detached". But when had it actually _happened_? Had it been after he joined their team and he had more time to get to know the young warrior? Or was it before, during their seemingly endless games of roostercat and badgermouse?

Although, he had to be honest with himself; he didn't actually know, one hundred per cent, _how_ he felt about Sokka. Zuko admired him. He made him laugh. He made him feel wanted and needed. He made him feel like a randy teenager—which, yes, he was, but he had never actually _felt_ like it before. But were these recent feelings associated with his loneliness and eagerness to be liked and accepted by damn near _any_one? Or did he really lo… er… like Sokka?

Just as important—how, in the name of the spirits, did Sokka feel about _him_? There was an obvious physical attraction between both of them. But Zuko was fairly confident that he had an emotional one, as well. Did Sokka? Or was this just a convenient way for him to get some?

Zuko very, very much wanted to think there was something more to it than that but he also had to be honest with himself. He just didn't know. And he wouldn't unless he asked and he was not yet ready to do that. He liked what they had going, even if it was confusing him into knots. He wasn't ready to risk it.

Zuko really wished he could talk to Uncle Iroh right about now.

Of course, that single, simple reflection released a whole floodgate of guilt-ridden thoughts that always seemed to burst forth unbidden in the quietest moments of the night.

"Zuko, I can _feel_ you thinking."

Zuko jumped in surprise. Despite all his swirling thoughts, he had forgotten Sokka was right beside him.

"Sorry." He murmured into the darkness. "I was trying not to keep you awake."

"Meh." Sokka shrugged as he turned to face Zuko, even though they could barely see each other through the shadows. "I wasn't really falling asleep. Too much on my mind. What about you?"

"I couldn't sleep, either." Zuko's voice sounded gruffer, even to himself. He frowned. His emotions were way too close to the surface. It was a bad time to talk.

Which, of course, meant that Sokka was more than ready to start a conversation.

"What were you thinking about?" Sokka asked. His voice was light and nonchalant, which led Zuko to suspect that Sokka's thoughts had not been anywhere near similar to Zuko's.

"Nothing." Zuko said quietly. He really didn't want to talk about it, not with Sokka this close. He could still feel the heat coming off him—he was a bit concerned, if he was being honest with himself—and if he allowed himself to get distracted, he wasn't sure he could keep a close guard on his mouth.

"Liar." Zuko felt Sokka prop himself up on his elbow. "Look, you don't have to tell me. Just keep in mind that whatever you say to me would stay with me. The last thing I need to do to make my life any more complicated is to go around blabbing someone else's secrets."

Zuko believed him. Still…

"I was thinking about my uncle." He said, deciding a half-truth wouldn't hurt. "How I wish he were here to help me think a little more clearly…"

Zuko let his words fade away.

He changed his mind. He didn't want to talk about it. At all. It was too painful and too dangerous and part of him was too eager to just tell Sokka everything. That was the part that scared him the most.

Zuko heard Sokka sigh and roll onto his back.

"It's okay, you know."

"What's okay?" Zuko couldn't help himself but ask.

"To be afraid. To feel like you're in over your head. To want to be comforted."

Zuko felt like there was a weight pressing down on his chest. Sokka's words were getting disconcertingly familiar. He wanted to roll over and go to sleep and ignore anything else Sokka had to say because it was hard enough when his thoughts were his own. He didn't know if he wanted to hear them coming from someone else's lips.

The other part of him kept him still.

"The first few weeks of this whole… journey…whatever thing made me feel like that." Sokka continued softly. "I was in so way over my head. I was just some kid from a Southern Water Tribe village who had never left the South Pole and had never had any intentions of doing so. But then Dad and the other men left and suddenly I was "the man in charge." Which was a laugh, since, by local tradition, I wasn't even a _man_ yet.

"And then along came Aang and he was the _Avatar_. Plus, it was me and Katara that were _chosen_ to lead him on his quest to become the savior of the world." Sokka's voice was mocking and humorless. "It didn't hit me right away, but when it did—_bam_.

"Suddenly I didn't feel like just another kid. I felt special. _Important_." Sokka snorted. "That didn't last very long. It seemed that every other day I was reminded of the fact that I wasn't any of those things. I was top of the class back home but out in the bigger, wider world I had no idea what I was doing. I had gotten it into my head that I was going to be the tough, strong, wise leader and provider for my sister and the Avatar. It had never occurred to me that, since I didn't know the first thing about the Earth Kingdom, that I wouldn't be able to _provide_ anything. All my skills were useless there. I didn't know how to act in trees. I didn't know what was safe and what was going to kill us dead by looking at it wrong. I didn't trust people—I had never seen a face that didn't resemble my own. And here I was in a nation full of people who looked at _me_ weird. I was right back to where I had started—a nobody kid from a Southern Water Tribe village play-acting at being a man.

"I saw it in their faces every day I did something wrong. Katara and Aang trusted me, but every time I messed up I could see them lose a little more faith in me. I knew they didn't do it on purpose, and I can hardly blame them. I was the oldest. Everyone just assumes that the oldest can do anything—I did, too. It hits hard when what you expect falls so far short."

For a moment Sokka was quiet. Zuko lay still beside him, listening silently. It was something new—and a bit unnerving—hearing this side of Sokka. The Sokka he knew was a fierce warrior and brave hunter, intelligent strategist and loyal companion. He was confident and eager and fearless. But while this other Sokka he heard about was a stranger, he was eerily similar to a Zuko he had once known…

"I don't think any of us really noticed at first when they started to ignore me. I know it wasn't intentional. But it happened and… I wonder if either of them ever realized it, but I sure did. One day I woke up and I was the third wheel and the butt of every joke. It seemed that Katara and Aang were getting on fine without me—better, in fact—and I was just the guy they dragged around because they couldn't ask me to go away. I was more or less required to come because I was Katara's brother. I wasn't Sokka, warrior of the Water Tribe. I was Sokka, Katara's brother. I was supposed to protect them. More often than not, _they_ were protecting _me_. And every time I _did_ do something right they seemed to forget it three days later.

"Again, it wasn't their fault. I mean, they had bigger fish to fry. Aang had to become the Avatar, for spirits' sake (still does, in fact), and it seemed it was Katara's personal mission to make sure he got there—all the while becoming a Waterbender herself. She had always been eager to see what was "out there" so this was all the things she could have hoped for and more. I guess I became a little depressed that the vision I had had of myself and my actual reality were two very different things—and that Katara and Aang had noticed."

Zuko could hear the smile creep into Sokka's voice.

"And then there was this weird, creepy Firebending kid who just couldn't seem to find it in himself to leave us the fuck alone. No matter where we went, there you were. Spirits—you were half the reason I left the South Pole. And you were a 'bender, just like they were. Only, you knew how to fight—they didn't. Oh, they figured it out and did pretty well for themselves, but all of it relied pretty heavily on their ability to 'bend.

"But I could fight." Sokka was grinning fiercely now. Zuko could tell. "And even though we didn't win often—or usually—I always seemed to be that one thing no one could plan for. I wasn't a 'bender so I didn't have any basic rules to fall back on while it seemed you all did. There were only so many moves Aang or Katara knew and they were limited in that once you figured out how to get passed those moves, they didn't have much to fall back on. And while you seemed to have a wider variety up your sleeves—and more back-up—you still fought like a 'bender.

"But I could pretty much do whatever I wanted. I had weapons and I knew how to use all of them—well. I was a Kyoshi warrior for a day—I can tell you're making a face so you can stop it now—and knew a lot about hand-to-hand fighting. 'Benders seemed all about face-to-face fighting and "honor". I was taught that the only honorable way to fight is the way that won't leave you bleeding face down in the snow.

"Suddenly I wasn't so useless. I wasn't the wise leader who provided for all, but I wasn't the sidekick, either. I was finally on equal footing with Katara and Aang. It seemed every time we had to fight you, I gained a little more respect back from them. And every time I held my own, I gained back a little more confidence. They never said that I was wanted or needed, but they didn't have to now. I had proven myself to myself."

Sokka's smile faded and his voice grew thoughtful.

"You were the only thing keeping me together, Zuko. You didn't even know it—_I_ didn't even know it—but you were. If it hadn't been for you… I don't know who I would be. Not me, that's for sure. You saved me, Zuko. You were what gave me comfort when I was afraid… though," Sokka's voice was wry once again, "looking back on it, I may be a little masochistic for taking comfort in a guy who tried to kill me once a week."

The silence that fell after Sokka stopped talking sounded like crashing waves in Zuko's ears. He didn't know what to say. What _could_ he say? Sokka had just done what Zuko had been too afraid to think about—he had bared himself to the Firebender without shame and without fear. He knew that Sokka wouldn't expect anything for it, either. He just wanted to make Zuko feel better, and he had probably thought nothing of showing him a part of his soul that probably nobody else in the four nations had ever even suspected existed.

Zuko couldn't swallow. He felt strange. There was a lump in his throat, the pressure of tears behind his eyes, and a dizzy feeling of being weightless while he was lying firmly on the ground.

"And I sure did miss you when your psycho sister started chasing us around." Sokka added dryly.

Something inside Zuko sprang so swiftly into focus that it made him dizzy. Zuko almost choked on the laugh that burst out of him.

"What?" Sokka's voice had a frown in it, but it was half-hearted. "What's so funny? She's scary, man."

Zuko couldn't answer. He had been surprised by the laughter, but now he couldn't seem to stop. He just laughed harder until his ribs ached and the tears streamed freely down his face. Every time he tried to form words, he dissolved into another fit of laughter until he was rolling on his bedroll, clutching at his sides.

He wanted to tell Sokka why he was laughing, but he didn't really understand it himself. He just knew that suddenly he felt refreshed. It was like new spring air had been breathed into him. He felt cleaner, more alive—happy. Zuko honestly couldn't remember the last time he had actually been _legitimately_ happy. Even in Ba Sing Se he had secretly known he was just kidding himself. And he certainly couldn't remember the last time he had laughed, let alone this hard. He felt uplifted. He felt _restored_. He felt like he could do anything. He felt dizzy and lightheaded and… _amazing_.

And it was all because of Sokka. All because Sokka told him he missed being chased around by a moody Firebending traitor-prince in lieu of his psychotic sibling. Sokka—the irritating, frustrating, wise-cracking, loyal, smart, funny peasant-warrior from the South Pole that Zuko had accidently fallen head-over-heels for without even realizing it. Who had trusted Zuko to heal him and had returned the favor without even realizing it.

In the space of a heartbeat the laughter dissolved into sobs. It was like every emotion that Zuko had shoved down as deep as he could took the opportunity to burst out of him like a river out of its banks. His joy at the new direction his life was taking—and the sorrow he had put himself and everyone else through to get here.

And, once again, there was Sokka. He didn't say anything—no words of comfort or mockery or humor. He simply pressed himself against Zuko, wrapped his arms around his shaking frame, and held him. Part of Zuko was humiliated. But that wasn't the part that turned into that embrace and buried his face into Sokka's shirt, clutching at the fabric in an attempt to keep Sokka there forever. That wasn't the part that was relieved to finally let all his feelings of disgrace and fear and anger, of despair and self-loathing and bitter loneliness burst out of him. In a way the tears were as revitalizing as the laughter had been.

It just wasn't as much fun.

Eventually Zuko exhausted himself to the point where there were no more tears. He kept his face buried against Sokka's chest and Sokka didn't seem to have any intention of letting him go. As Zuko drifted into a calmer sleep than he could ever remember having, he realized that he wasn't confused anymore. He knew exactly how he felt about Sokka. He was pretty sure he had Sokka's answer, too.

All the rest of it could wait.


End file.
